In its effort to adjust to the times, baseball is being shaped today by two trends that sometimes work at cross-purposes. One is the demand by many ballplayers that they be allowed to express their individuality and not be forced to conform to old-school baseball conventions…

The other trend is the evangelism of analytics. I’m an agnostic when it comes to this religion. I have nothing against using statistical analysis to figure out the best way to win, for each at-bat and over ...

“Whether he finally survived that combat, and spent the remainder of his days in some Hotel des Invalides, I do not know; but I thought that his industry would not be worth much thereafter.“

While I’m excited about Walden’s return to the Atlanta organization, the last place he had considerable success, I urge caution. Shoulder strains and injuries can be bad news, and they often portend the beginning of the end of a career. While none of us want that for Jordan, it can’t be ruled out ...

Every draft contains decisions gone awry. Some prospects flop. Others simply fail to attain the same level of success as players taken with subsequent picks. Mike Trout was famously bypassed by 21 teams in 2009, with the Nationals and Diamondbacks each missing a pair opportunities to grab the future superstar.

Things didn’t go much better for Arizona the next two years. In 2010, they took Barrett Loux with the sixth pick when they could have had Matt Harvey, Chris Sale or Christian Yelich. ...

Saturday, November 12, 2016

MLB.com: You had an analytics guy in your front office in the 1980s.
Grieve: Yes, Craig Wright. He really was the trailblazer. Actually, he was hired in 1981, when Eddie Robinson was the general manager, Joe Klein was the farm director, and I was the assistant farm director. It was before anyone knew what sabermetrics [were]. Craig was well accepted by our manager, Bobby Valentine, and the pitching coach, Tom House.

Friday, November 11, 2016

They believe they found one Friday. The team announced it had traded Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney to the Dodgers for Howie Kendrick. Kendrick, 33, will be the team’s everyday left fielder, although he spent the majority of his 11-year career at second base.

Epstein said at the general managers meetings this week he has “no doubt (Heyward) will address it” and praised the way he handled the season-long slump.

“He never backed down from his struggles, and a lot of players with the performance he had after signing a big contract would have found their way to the disabled list or found their way to avoid the big moment,” Epstein said. “Instead, he was fully engaged with his teammates and even assumed the leadership position at the very end. So that ...

The Blue Jays have struck a deal to sign free agent DH Kendrys Morales, as first reported on Twitter by Chris Meola and as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. The contract will reportedly cover three years and guarantee Morales $33MM.

The Atlanta Braves are wasting no time in filling the openings they have in their starting rotation. Just one day after they signed veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, the Braves have reportedly done the same thing with veteran New York Mets starter Bartolo Colon, pending a physical….

Colon made 33 starts in 2016, pitching to a 3.43 ERA and coming just short of 200 innings. Jon Heyman says the Mets are “disappointed” they couldn’t reach a ...

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Cuban prospect Lourdes Gurriel Jr., to a multi-year deal, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the deal is for seven years and $22 million.

The 23-year-old Gurriel Jr., who stands at six-foot-four, 205 lbs., can play middle infield as well as the outfield. He practised in those spots during a September showcase in front of scouts in Panama.

Slow baseball news week, so let’s chat with Joe Buck. He’s on the show to plug a book, but I found this interesting to watch. I’ve never really seen Buck outside of his solemn game announcing duty mode. He’s actually quite a bit more lively and personable and wisecracking than you might expect. (His voice is still grating, though.)

“When people begin to value players much more similarly across the industry, the ability to find value disappears or greatly decreases,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “There’s no question that teams are looking at player evaluation much more similarly than they were five years ago.”

Fritz Maizel [sic], third sacker of the New York Yankees, while out gunning today for rabbits…with his brothers, Ernest and George, the latter of the Montreal team of the International League, accidentally shot Ernest in the face. Ernest fell to the ground at the crack of the gun, and when Fritz and George reached his side, they found that a dozen or more shots had been imbedded [sic] in his cheek. Shot penetrated the lower eyelid and it is feared ...

Thanks to all the vets for making the commitment to something bigger than themselves. Your commitment and sacrifices are very much appreciated.

Playing Major League Baseball isn’t the only thing Tom Seaver, Al Bumbry and Roy Gleason have in common. The trio also served in the military.

With Veterans Day upon us, not only do we pay homage to these ballplayers for their service, but to all veterans, such as Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra and Ted Williams to name a few, who served in the military.

Mike Petriello does a great job breaking down some landing spots for Mark Trumbo. Colorado would be a great fit, as would Houston (click though to see an overlay of his his flies and liners overlaid over Houston’s park).

Colorado doesn’t usually swim in the deep end of the free-agent pool, but there’s reason to believe this is a good opportunity to do so. We know the Rockies had previous interest in trading for Trumbo, and we also know they have an enormous hole at first base. Last year, ...

Have you ever thought your team’s GM made a stupid trade? Paid too much for a free agent? Wish you had the opportunity to run the team more effectively? I gave the opportunity to 30 fans to run their team how they saw fit in an Offseason Simulation, cramming an entire winter of transactions into four days. I gave each team a recommended budget and asked them to negotiate with each other on trades, and with me on free agents.

Fans have complained for years that games are too long, and they frequently express annoyance at the number of commercial breaks and video reviews. Last season, the average length of regular-season games, from kickoff to final whistle, was 3 hours 8 minutes, six minutes longer than in 2008.

Goodell said the league was considering a number of potential solutions to improve the pace of games, including running fewer advertisements and changing when they run. The league is also looking at ways to ...

Thursday, November 10, 2016

“I think in order for us to be successful, we’ve got to spend more money,’’ Archer said. “You look at the teams that were in contention this year and they were all around the $100-million payroll mark or more. And we’re in the $70 million payroll (range).

“So I think a couple added pieces, yeah, we’re going to have to spend a little bit of money. But a couple added pieces with the starting pitching that we have can change everything. We can get back to the winning franchise that we were.’‘

Both parties satisfied their wishes on Thursday, when Dickey agreed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal that includes an $8 million club option with a $500,000 buyout for the 2018 season. The 42-year-old former National League Cy Young Award winner will now have a chance to extend his career while playing just a few hours away from his family residence in Nashville, Tenn.